1946 World Series Game 7

Lore & Background

In the eighth inning of Game 7, with the score 3–3, the Cardinals' Enos Slaughter opened the inning with a single but two batters failed to advance him. With two outs, Harry Walker walloped a hit over Johnny Pesky's head into left-center field. As Leon Culberson chased it down, Slaughter started his 'mad dash'. Pesky caught Culberson's throw, turned and—perhaps surprised to see Slaughter headed for the plate—supposedly hesitated just a split second before throwing home. Roy Partee had to take a few steps up the third base line to catch Pesky's toss, but Slaughter was safe without a play at the plate and Walker was credited with an RBI double. The Cardinals won the game and the Series in seven games, giving them their sixth championship.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Sportsman's Park hung heavy with humidity and the electric tension of a crowd that knew history was tipping on a razor's edge. When Harry Walker swung, the crack of the bat echoed like a gunshot, shattering the stillness. Slaughter didn't glance back; he was already sprinting, a red blur tearing toward second as the ball thudded into Culberson's glove. The relay to Pesky was swift, but then came the silence—the split-second where the world seemed to hold its breath. In that suspended heartbeat, Slaughter rounded third, his slide kicking up dust as he dove for home. Partee's tag arrived a fraction too late. The umpire's call of 'Safe!' triggered an eruption from the Cardinals' faithful that drowned out the stadium, while inside the Red Sox dugout, the silence was colder than any winter in Boston.

Reader's Guide

Boston superstar Ted Williams played in the Series injured and was largely ineffective but refused to use his injury as an excuse. He hit only .200 in 25 at-bats with just one RBI in his only World Series appearance. As the first World Series to be played after wartime travel restrictions had been lifted, it returned from the 3-4 format to the 2–3–2 format for home teams, which has been used since. It also saw the return of many prominent players from military service.

Did You Know?

• This was the first of eleven meetings between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship.
• This would happen again in the World Series three more times (1967, 2004, 2013), along with four NBA Finals (1957, 1958, 1960, 1961), Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, and two Stanley Cup Finals (1970, 2019).